Rumpilstiltskin
by robin's clone
Summary: AU Read and find out. Zuko and Katara have to work together in order to save those that they care about most. Of the Zutaraness that is good and right in this world.
1. When There's Trouble You Know What To Do

**Rumpilstiltskin**

Once upon a time, in a world far away there lived a brother named Sokka and his sister Katara. Sokka and Katara lived in the Southern Water Tribe. They lived a quiet life, until one day the Avatar, the master of all four elements, air, fire, water, and earth, came to the South in search of something.

"I am looking for a person who knows water bending. I have a task for them."

Now, Sokka overheard this, and well, Sokka liked to brag. He ran up to the tallest person in the Avatar's party, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, Avatar."

The man didn't turn around, but a voice to Sokka's left said, "Yes, what do you want?"

Sokka turned, he didn't see anyone.

"Hey, down here."

Sokka looked down, there was a boy standing there. The boy was short, bald and had funny blue tattoos.

"I'm looking for the Avatar. I've got something to say to him."

"Well, you're looking at him."

Sokka burst out laughing. He rolled around on the ground in a very, undignified way. When he finally stopped laughing, he stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Oh, that's rich, wait till I tell Katara. You're the Avatar, yeah right; you're just a little kid."

"So, what's your point?"

Sokka shook his head. He stared at the boy, "Wait, you're really the Avatar?"

"Really, really."

"How can you be the Avatar, you're just a little kid. What are you like, 8?"

"Actually, I'm 12. Besides everyone's a kid to start out with. Plus you're only a teenager. Anyway you said you had something to tell me."

It's about my sister, well, she's a water bender."

"That's great. I have a job for her. Tell her to meet me at the docks tomorrow at dawn if she wants the job."

Sokka ran the entire way home. He burst through the door, yelling his sister's name.

"Katara! Katara!"

"Shh, Sokka. What's the matter with you? We live in an igloo, not a castle. Not exactly large."

"Katara, I've got great news."

"What is it?" Katara walked over to where her brother seemed frozen.

"Sokka?" When he didn't respond, Katara started to get worried. Sokka shook his head and appeared to come out a stupor.

"Katara, you'll never guess, who I met today."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Does she have long flowing hair and eyes the color of the sky. Pearly white teeth and curves in all the right places?"

Sokka started to drool, picturing that perfect creature. He suddenly remembered his important news. After wiping away the drool hanging from his lip he said, "That would be nice, but no one with those perfections lives down here. No the person I met has a way for you to get out of here."

Katara dropped the spoon she'd been holding.

"What do you mean?" she breathed.

"I mean, you're going to work for the Avatar."

"The Avatar?" Katara was stunned she stood there her mouth gapping like a fish.

Sokka reached over and closed her mouth, and said, "Yes, the Avatar."

Katara began running around their igloo, shouting, "Oh my gosh, the Avatar! I can't believe it! The Avatar, I'm so excited!"

Katara suddenly stopped, and looked at her brother, "What about you?"

"What about me?"  
"What are you going to do?"  
"Stay here of course."

"What about your dreams of leaving, getting out of here?"

"Katara, I'm still young, your birthday's coming up, and you'll be what 19? I'm only two years older than you."

"Yes, but…"

"Look if it makes you happy, you'll be working for the Avatar, right? Getting paid, right? Send home a small portion of your pay each month. I'll save some more of mine. And when we've collected enough, I'll come see you and get a job wherever you are. I promise to see you soon, okay?"

Katara nodded. She couldn't believe that she was going to leave tomorrow and wouldn't see her brother in who knows how long. It was a little overwhelming.

Sokka sniffed the air, "Mmm, something smells good."

"I made salted seal meat stew, your favorite."

The next morning dawned bright, especially against the winter snow. Sokka and Katara stood waiting at the docks for the Avatar to arrive; each lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, the Avatar landed right in front of them. Sokka jumped into Katara's arms. Katara looked at her brother, looked at the ground, and then dropped Sokka into a back of snow.

"Good morning," said the Avatar, a huge smile on his face.

"Good morning, Avatar," replied Katara. Sokka stoop up, brushing snow off his body.

"Yeah, yeah, good mornings all around," muttered Sokka.

"By the way my name's Aang. Call me that."

"Okay, Ava … Aang. My name's Katara. And this is my brother Sokka."

"Nice to see you again Sokka. Anyway this is my ship." Aang turned and pointed to a very large ship.

Sokka's mouth dropped open. "That's …that's your ship."

"Yep. That's it." He turned back towards the siblings, "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost just one more thing." Katara turned and hugged Sokka and whispered, "I'll miss you."

Sokka squeezed his sister and said, "I'll miss you too."

"Where are you going?" This question was directed to Sokka.

"What do you mean, 'Where am I going?' I'm not going anywhere, Katara is. Remember she's leaving with you." Sokka stared at the Avatar confused.

"Of course I remember, but you're coming too."

"Really? I get to come too?"

"Yep, it's all been arranged. Do you have all your things?"

"No, I left everything back in the igloo."

"Well, you'd better hurr – ry." Sokka was gone and then back in only a matter of seconds.

Katara stared at her brother, "I've only ever seen you move that fast at meal times."

"Yeah well," Sokka puffed out his chest and spoke like a cowboy, "You see little lady," leaning in towards Katara, "I'm on an adventure with the Avatar, and well, we don't have much time to waste."

"You're right, Sokka, let's get on board."

Once on board, Aang said, "These men will escort you to your quarters. See you later."

Katara and Sokka followed the two men down into the ship through a maze of twists and turns. Katara tried to remember the different passageways, but soon she was completely lost, one hallway, looked pretty much like the next.

Presently they stopped in front of a closed door. One of the men pulled out of a key and unlocked the door. He opened it and allowed Katara and Sokka to get all the way inside before he quickly pulled the door shut. Katara heard the key turn in the lock.

Sokka was the first to speak, "What's going on here!" he wailed.

Then suddenly out of the shadows a voice said, "We'd like to know that too."


	2. Ode to My Left Nostril

Disclaimer: I am a college student. Enough Said.

Sokka and Katara turned slowly towards the direction the sound came from. They'd thought that they were alone in the room.

Then the voice spoke again, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"  
"We could ask you the same question."

The owner of the voice stepped out the shadows; he was young man, with jet black hair, pulled back in a ponytail. He was obviously a warrior; the armor he wore only emphasized his board shoulders and muscular body. "My name is Prince Zuko."

Another man, who was short and round, with gray hair and beard, also stepped out of the shadows. The young man spoke again, "This is my uncle Iroh. We are from the Fire Nation. We are here to help the Avatar."

"Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled. "We want nothing to do with the Fire Nation. Come on Katara."

He grabbed Katara's wrist and pulled her into the corner farthest from, the young Fire Nation prince and his uncle. They all sat in uncomfortable silence until Iroh broke it.

"Where are you from to hate the Fire Nation so much?"  
"We're from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Ahh, no wonder, it is true that fire and water do not mix very well. So that means that you are also water benders."

"No, only Katara can water bend."

"I see."

The uncomfortable silence descended upon them once again. This time it was broken by the arrival of food. No one made any attempt to grab the food. Katara's stomach growled loudly. She felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She hoped that the room was dark enough for no one to notice her blush.

Suddenly Iroh spoke again, "You know it is a custom in our Nation, to wait until after the women have served themselves."

Katara reached for one of the bowls and began eating. It was some kind of stew and it was delicious. As soon as she brought the bowl up to her lips, she saw out of the corner of her eye the other reach for their own lunch. She noticed that Prince Zuko waited until after everyone else had chosen their lunch, before he himself began to eat.

_'He puts others first. I thought that people from the Fire Nation were selfish, and yet he waited until last_, _interesting._

Everyone ate in silence. Soon after they were done, a man came and took their empty dishes. The room was silent; no one dared to talk even to their neighbor.

Finally, Katara couldn't take it anymore.

"Katara."

"What?"

"My name, it's Katara. And this is my brother Sokka. We're here to help the Avatar."

Zuko snorted, "Here to help the Avatar. What can a water peasant do to help?"  
Iroh hit his nephew in the back of the head and said, "Show some respect for the other nations. It's no wonder no one likes the Fire Nation, with you going around insulting everyone."

Iroh turned to Katara, "Please accept my apology on behalf on my nephew. I thought that his mother and I had taught him better manners."

Zuko stopped rubbing the back of his head and shot his uncle a dirty look at that last comment.

"Apology accepted. And for your information he came looking for us. Besides, I could ask you the same thing. What can a spoiled prince do to help the Avatar?"  
Zuko lunged up and started to go for Katara, but Iroh stopped him and chuckled, "She's got you there Prince Zuko."

"She insulted me; I won't take that kind of insolence, out of a commoner."

"And you insulted me, your highness, or should I say your lowness. What do you rule over anyway, in case hadn't noticed, you're stuck in here too."

Zuko made another attempt to grab Katara. Katara stuck her tongue out at him, when he was once again restrained by Iroh.

"Enough!" yelled Iroh. Zuko stared at his uncle shocked at hearing him raise his voice. In a quieter, calmer voice, Iroh continued.

"Enough. No one knows how long we'll be in here and since we all have to share this room together, I think we all need to make an attempt to get along."

Zuko looked away from Katara and settled back in his original seat, muttering, "Stupid water peasant."

The room fairly crackled with tension. Sokka and Iroh quietly talked about the best way to cook trout, too afraid to talk above a whisper. Afraid of the two benders, who were currently glaring daggers at each other.

"Spoiled prince."

"Lowly water peasant."

At the same time they both stood up yelling, "What did you say?"

"I called you a spoiled prince. That's what you are, right? Had the world handed to you on a silver platter? I bet you've never had to work a day in your life."

"What do you know? You're only a peasant. A water tribe peasant at that, the lowest of the low. I would wager that you don't know a thing about the civilized world."

Katara snorted, "A lot you know, my village is the largest in our area. People from all around the world come and go."

"Yeah, well, this may come as a shock, but I've had to work hard to become as good of a fire bender as I am. Half my day is spent learning how to be Fire Lord and the other is spent training."

For some unknown reason Katara felt the urge to impress Zuko with her bending skill, "Well, for your information, I'm the only girl in my village that's reached the level of master."

Zuko was stunned by that announcement. He quickly looked away and pondered this new information. Even after they had settled back down into their seats, Katara continued to stare at Zuko. He was interesting; she almost hoped that they would be locked up together for a long time, almost.

You could say that she got her wish, after being locked up together for almost a week, they were eating lunch when suddenly Zuko said, "Hear, that?"

"What?" Sokka asked around a mouthful of noodles.

"Exactly," by now Zuko was standing and has his ear pressed up against the wall.   
"There's nothing. The engines have stopped."

The door burst open and eight men came into the room and tied everyone's hands behind their back and forced them to walk, through the maze of hallways and up onto the deck. The sun was bright and blinded them temporarily. Once on deck they were lead to the bridge where the Avatar was waiting.

"So," he said cheerily, "Hope that the accommodations weren't too bad."

Nobody chose to answer him. So he continued, "As you can tell, we've stopped moving."

Sokka rolled his eyes in a 'duh' kind of way.

"And if you look to our left you can see an island."  
They all turned and looked at the island. It wasn't a large island, but it wasn't exactly small. It was mostly forest, but there was one large mountain in the middle of the island.

"Now there's something on that island, something that I want. I won't tell you what you have to figure that out yourself. You'll have a week to find this object. The island is deserted, so no one's there to help you. You'll given a few supplies, but not very many. Most of the things you need to survive you have to find. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Why in the name of Angi are you sending us on a wild goose chase! We don't even know what were looking for!" Zuko was so angry, that he had steam coming out of his nose.

"That's part of the fun, well, for me at least." Aang said, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Sokka stared at Aang, and stated, "You're crazy, you know that, right?"

"Yep. Any more questions?" Aang looked around at their surprised faces.

Katara had one. "Why are we bound?"

"Ahh, a very good question. You're bound because only two of you get to go."

"What?" they shouted simultaneously. The only one who didn't seem shocked was Iroh; he thought he knew what the Avatar was planning. _'You're playing with fire; I hope you know what you're doing.'_

"Yep, that's right. Only two of you are going. Don't worry you don't have to decide amongst yourselves, it's already been decided. Zuko and Katara will be going."

Zuko and Katara stared at each other in shock, each thinking the same thing, _'Agh I can't stand them, how am I supposed to work with them?'_

"Now to make sure that you work together there's an incentive. That's where Sokka and General Iroh come in. Katara you're responsible for whether General Iroh lives or dies. Zuko the same applies for you only you hold Sokka's life in your hands."

Zuko rounded on Katara, "If anything happens to my uncle, I'll kill you and your brother myself."

"If you two fail, they both die. Now there's a boat waiting to take to the island. Your bonds will be severed once you reach the island. Your week begins tomorrow at dawn. Good luck, remember you hold the lives of two people in your hands."


	3. How to Fart in Tune

Disclaimer: Despite numerous wasted wishes on shooting stars, birthday cakes, etc. I still do not own Avatar.

The boat ride over was silent, each of us trying to figure what the Avatar wanted. By the time we reached the sandy beach it was mid-afternoon. The men that traveled with us to the island undid our bonds and left us, alone. I looked over at Zuko; he was concentrating of something, what I couldn't tell. He was an enigma. He had a temper yes, but he always treated his uncle with respect even when angered. I stared too long.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nu…nothing."

He glared at me, so I glared right back. Suddenly his face softened. "Come on we've got work to do."

He turned and started walking along the edge of the forest. I hurried to catch up with him.

"What can you do?"  
"Excuse me."  
Zuko sighed, "What kind of skills do you possess? Like can you sew, cook, build a shelter. Those kinds of things."

"Well…" I thought, _'I can sew pretty well. Cook well that a matter of opinion. Shelter if we were back home…'_

"Can you do anything?" I could hear the impatience in his voice.

"I can cook and sew. I can build an igloo. I don't know I am willing to try anything once, twice if I like it." I grinned up at him cheekily.

He nodded, "Okay, good. It's a start."

We walked a little bit further, until Zuko suddenly stopped, I wasn't looking any walked right into him.

"Ouch!" I stepped back rubbing my nose, Zuko turned and glanced at my face and said,

"You'll live. Look over there in between those two trees." I stopped rubbing my nose to see what he was pointing at. My eyes followed to where he was pointing. It was a small clearing. It was just visible from the beach, it was protecting by the surrounding trees.

"Is that our camp?" Zuko nodded, he led the way into the forest. I followed closely, only stumbling once. When he stopped, I did too, and looked around. It was like no other place I had ever seen, sure I'd heard about trees and grass, but in the South there's only snow and ice.

Truthfully, it wasn't much to look at. There was a soft covering of grass, and I could hear a stream somewhere, but I couldn't see it.

I stood there in awe. Not noticing the look that Zuko gave me. I laid down on the grass, closed my eyes and heaved a big sigh, _'It _is _as soft as it looked.'_

I opened my eyes to see Zuko staring at me with a smirk, "Never seen grass before, peasant."

I shook my head no. I looked up at the sky, but all I could see were leaves and branches.

I heard a plop next to me; I turned my head and saw Zuko sitting crossed-legged next to me. He looked down at me and said, "We're wasting daylight."

But he made no move to get up and neither did I.

We sat in companionable silence. For once we weren't yelling or calling each other names like, "water peasant" or "spoiled brat". It was actually pretty nice.

The daylight was slowly fading from the sky. I could've laid there the rest of the day, but then my stomach growled. I heard Zuko's growl in response. I sighed ands at up.

"We should probably make some kind of camp." Zuko looked at me and stood up. He held out a hand to help me up. I stared at his hand for a few moments, and then I placed my hand in his and allowed him to help me up. My tingled form where our hands made contact I looked up at Zuko from under my lashes to see if he felt anything. But his face was unreadable as usual. He turned and walked away from me, I glared at his retreating back; I wanted him to feel something. I was so busy glaring at his back that I didn't see him clench, the hand that I'd held into a fist.


	4. The Era of the Earwax

Disclaimer: The chances of me owning it are about as good a snowball chances in hell.

Something was buzzing in my ear, I tried to wave it away, but it came back. I groaned and rolled over, burying my head in my arms. Suddenly I felt the icy fingers of morning, my covers were gone.

I groped around for my disappearing covers. Instead of soft blankets, I encountered something that was hard and very warm. (A/N: Not that you perverts.) My eyes flew open and I found myself looking into a pair of golden eyes. I pulled my hand away from where it had landed on his thigh, like it was on fire. It could very well have been.

He spoke curtly, "It's dawn, let's go."

I nodded mutely. I sat up and stretched. We were silent as we packed up our things. I silently took the breakfast that Zuko handed me. It was I who broke the silence.

"What do you think we're looking for?"

"Honestly?" I nodded. "I have no idea."

He paused and looked thoughtful, he shook his head and spoke, "This island could be any island in anyplace."

He started pacing back and forth. Pondering aloud, "What makes this island so special? Why us? Why not send your brother and me? He is a warrior right?"

He didn't bother to wait for my answer, he just continued to pace. He was starting to wear a hole into the ground. Suddenly he stopped.

"I've got it!" I jumped. I admit that although entertaining to hear his mutterings, _"Maybe we're supposed to collect one leaf off of every tree." _It got boring very quickly, and well I guess my mind had started to wander; especially to that little handhold yesterday.

I stood up and stretched my cramped muscles, "What have you got?"  
He looked smug, "A plan."  
He grabbed a stick and crouched down in the dirt that he'd worn away. He started to draw something. Curious I crouched down next to him. It was a layout of the island. It was amazed, there were little x's for the trees and a stream. Even the cliff was drawn. I was impressed.

"How'd you do that?"  
"Do what?"

I gestured to the picture, "That, it's almost a perfect replica."

Zuko shrugged, "It's not a big deal. I don't know, I just have a good memory."  
He pointed to the cliff, "It follows logic that whatever we're after would be in a difficult location. Why else would we need a week? And I figure that most remote location is on that cliff. So that's where we'll look first."

I nodded, it made sense. Plus, I had no idea where to look, and since he had a plan. Why not go with it?

Zuko stood up brushing off his pants. He picked up his pack, "Let's go."

I grabbed my pack and hurried to catch up with long strides, by the time I caught up with him, I was out of breath.

"Can… we… slow… down?" I wheezed, clutching his arm for support. He looked down at m confused.

"Why?"  
I glared at him, "Why?"  
He nodded, I couldn't believe how dense he was, "Why, because in case you haven't noticed your legs are longer than mine, I have to take twice as many steps as you do. Plus you walk as if your pants are on fire."

He shrugged and started walking again. Although, I noticed it was a little bit slower than before.

I glanced up at him, _'He was pretty good looking. Okay who are you trying to fool, Katara, he's very good looking. That is exactly why you'll never have him. He's a prince; he probably has his pick of beautiful women. Plus he's Fire Nation that alone should make you think twice.'_

I looked up at him again, hoping he didn't notice any signs of my inner battle. He was looking at our surroundings, looking for possible danger.

I mentally slapped my forehead. _'Duh, Katara he's looking for Aang's mysterious object. He's protecting you and you're off in la-la-land.'_

I blocked out all further thoughts about his royal behindness, I still hadn't forgotten what he'd called me back on the ship. What can I say I know how to hold a grudge? I may not be royalty, but at least I wasn't out rightly rude, unlike some people I could mention,

It felt like we'd been walking for days, but judging from the position of the sun, it had really only been a few hours. Everything hurt, my back from my stupid pack, my feet and my head, from trying to figure out what we were supposed to find and from Zuko. He was being a royal jerk. This morning I thought we'd reached some kind of an understanding. And I thought he'd slowed down so that I could keep up better. I was wrong on both counts.

As the day had worn on Zuko had become more and more irritable. He had refused to let us stop to enjoy our lunch, saying we needed to all the day light we could get. When I thanked him for slowing down, he had replied, "It wasn't for you, peasant. It's so that I can look for it better."

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be working as a team?"  
Zuko had shrugged, "Why does it matter who finds it? If it wasn't for the fact that you hold my Uncle's life in your hands, I would've gotten rid of you a long time ago!"

He was yelling by the time he finished. Fire had burst into flame around his hands and arms. And although I knew that he would never hurt me, I was still scared.

Then just as quickly as they came they disappeared and Zuko stalked off. I followed him at a slower, more leisurely pace. _'Did he really hate me so much?'_

Now as we glared at each from across a fire that Zuko, had built. We had made it to the base of the cliff, but it was too dark to try and climb it today. I couldn't take it anymore, the sun had barely gone done, but I couldn't stand to look at Zuko any longer. I rolled out my sleeping bag, muttered a 'good night' and lay down. I closed my eyes hoping to block him out. Instead I was tormented my pictures and the handful of memories I had of Zuko.

I guess in general he was an okay guy, when he wasn't being a self-important, egotistical, ice bear's rear end.

I wondered how he had gotten the scars that littered his back. I'd noticed them today when he was washing off at the stream. They looked like they'd hurt a lot, when he gotten them. I didn't dare ask about them. For one it wasn't any of my business. Why should I care about some stupid old scars anyway?

Secondly I didn't want to have to admit that I'd been staring at him. I sighed.

"Hey, will you be quiet over there. Some of us have work to do tomorrow."

I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled onto my side away from him. So much wishing for sweet dreams.

A/N: I refuse to play the 'I won't update till I get such and such number of reviews', but your input is greatly appreciated. It helps me know if I need to clear up some confusion, add more Zutara goodness. Sorry for being harsh. Thanks again.

-Robin's Clone


	5. Naughty Naughty Kool Aid

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Avatar, well things would be different, like maybe the addition of a character who acted like me, paired with Zuko. Clearly I don't.

I woke up to find Zuko no where in sight. For a moment I panicked. I looked around our camp. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw his pack. I mentally scolded myself, _'Get a grip girl. He's probably tending to nature's call or something. He wouldn't just leave you, would he?'_

I thought back to our fight yesterday, _'. . . you hold my Uncle's life in your hands, I would've gotten rid of you a long time ago.'_

_'Okay so maybe he would.' _Unexpectedly Zuko burst out of the bushes.

"Good you're awake, we can get going."

"What about breakfast?"

"You can eat on the way."

I put my hands on my hips and spoke to him as if he was a child.

"We are about to climb a cliff, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you're going to use both of your arms to climb?"

"Yes."

"Zuko are you strong?" This question made him visibly confused. He answered slowly, picking and choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, I suppose I am considered strong."

"Stronger than say, me?" I asked sweetly.

"Yes." He answered; he didn't have to think very long, about that one.

I threw my hands in the air and shouted, "Then how am I supposed to climb with one arm! If I'm eating on the way that means I'm only going to be able to use one arm to climb. Okay Mr. Muscles, how am I going to accomplish that? You said so yourself that you're stronger than I am. You aren't going to climb with only one arm so how can you expect me to."

I started pacing back and forth still ranting, "Unbelievable. Unbelievable. 'Eat on the way Katara. Climb the mountain using only one arm Katara.'"

I stopped pacing to face him again, "I swear you don't have the brains given to a rock. No offense to the rock of course."

I closed my eyes and sighed in frustration. I opened one eye to look at Zuko; he was just standing there, unmoving. And that scared me even more than, when he was yelling. And when he spoke I felt the icy fingers of fear, brushing the back of my neck, for when he spoke it was in a calm, emotionless voice,

"Are you done?"

Unable to speak, I merely nodded.

"Good." He reached into his pack and threw me an apple. "You have five minutes, and then I'm leaving."

Not wishing to tempt fate I packed faster than I thought humanly possible. I rushed over to where he was leaning against a tree; he looked at me and said,

"You still have a little time." Then he did something that would make me blush when I thought about it later. He grabbed me and pinned me against the tree he'd been leaning on just moments ago. And before I had a chance to protest, he kissed me. It was as if an explosion of fireworks were going on right next to my head. His lips were warm; actually his whole body was warm. Before I had a chance to respond to the kiss, it ended, he pulled back, looking both smug and confused. It would have been quite comical, but I was still in too much of a shock to anything but stare.

Don't get me wrong I'd been kissed before, at the age of 18, I'd had my share of kisses. _'Yeah, right, Katara. Who are you trying to fool? You've had like one other actual kiss and with who Jet? Remember him, he was a slime ball. And he never kissed as well as Zuko. Wait a minute where did that come from?' _I pushed the thought out of my mind. I stalked towards Zuko, getting angrier with every step I took. _'How dare he force his attentions on me! If he thinks that I'll stand for this he's got another thing coming.'_

I walked right up to him and got right in his face, I open my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything he cupped the sides of my face with his hands and kissed me again! But he'd forgotten one very important thing this time my hands were free, I curled one into a fist and punched him square in the chest. It wasn't a very hard punch, but he wasn't expecting it, so it gave me enough space to escape him.

I was mad. I'm sure that I'd been a fire-bender smoke would've come out of my ears. I watched him through silted eyes rub his chest where I'd hit him. If looks could kill, the world would now be short one Fire Nation prince.

He spoke first, "Hey what was that for?"

I couldn't believe that he was that dense, "For kissing me! Twice!"

He shrugged, "So it was just a little kiss. Not a big deal."

"Maybe not to you, but it was to me."

"I don't know why you're so mad at me most girls would be flattered to gotten the chance to kiss me. You know heir to the Fire Nation throne. They call me Prince Zuko. Ringing any bells?"

"Yeah. Well, since when have I been most girls?"

He pondered this for a moment, reluctantly he muttered, "Well, never."

"Exactly. Now let's go." I grabbed my stuff and started walking the direction I thought the cliff was. I hadn't gotten very far when I heard Zuko call out to me.

"Hey, Wilderness Girl, you're going the wrong way."

The climbing the cliff was a lot harder than I expected it to be. I followed Zuko as close as I could. He went first doing the hard part, finding the footholds and such. He'd insisted that he go first, stating that he knew more about it. I snorted remembering his arrogance, but since I had no burning desire to go first, I'd followed.

_'Burning desire. Bad choice of words, Katara.' _I blushed remembering our kiss, our kisses; I amended, from earlier that morning. I'd been thinking about them all morning. I didn't want to admit it, but they had been nice. I glanced up to take a look at Zuko. He was concentrating on the rocks in front of him. _'Like I should be too.' _I mentally scolded myself.

Then without warning the rocks I'd been steadily climbing, gave out from beneath me. Feeling the rocks shift under my feet, I scrambled for a foothold. Finding nothing to grab onto, I closed my eyes and screamed. I waited for my body to hit the hard earth; I prayed that I would survive. But it never came; instead I felt a warm hand grasp my wrist, saving me from the ground below. I opened my eyes and stared into the golden eyes of my rescuer. He pulled me up, and placed my body between his and the solid rock wall. I felt his chest move in and out with every breath that he took. I shuddered remembering the fall that would've killed me. I felt his breath hot on my cheek as he spoke,

"Are you all right?"

Still unable to speak I simply nodded.

"Why don't you go first? I'll follow behind you."

I nodded, still not over my near brush with death. I started to climb up the cliff. I could fell Zuko right on my heels. We weren't too far from the top. I scrambled over the edge. I rolled away from the edge and lay on my back, panting and staring at the sky. A few moments later Zuko joined me at the top.

"Are you all right?" he asked again. Now that there was solid ground beneath me, I had regained the use of my voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I paused and turned my head to look at him, where he lay next to me. I found his eyes searching my face for any sign of an injury. His amber eyes, so different than anything back home, they were full of concern, for me! I was surprised; I didn't know that he cared for anybody, but himself. _'Katara; you know better. Remember his uncle?' _I'd forgotten about Iroh.

I sat up and so did Zuko. Before he had a chance to stand all the way up, I gave him a hug, muttered, "Thanks for saving my life," and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I let go of him and stood up quickly. Too quickly; I bit back the moan that threatened to escape and clutched the side of my head as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I sank back down to the ground on my knees.

I pulled my hand away from my head; there was something red and sticky on it. Blood. I must've gotten hit in the head without even realizing it.

I vaguely heard Zuko's voice in the background asking me if I was okay. I felt him catch me as I started to faint. The last thing I remember, before giving up consciousness, was Zuko's voice whispering in my ear,

"I promise Katara, you'll be okay. You'll be okay."

**Author's Note: **This chapter is in honor of my sister Arein's birthday. Happy Birthday! P.S. Even though it's not my birthday, would you please leave me a present by reviewing.


	6. Monkey See

**Disclaimer: **As if you didn't already know, I tell you again, I DON'T OWN AVATAR!

**Author's Note: **This part is from Zuko's POV. Katara's unconscious, she has no idea what's going on. When she wakes up it'll be her POV again.

I carefully picked up the water-bending girl, _'Katara. Her name's Katara.' _I reminded myself. I walked until I found something that was almost like a cave. I lay Katara on the ground and unrolled one of the bedrolls. I picked her up again and laid her back down on the bedroll. I leaned back on my heels, looking for my canteen, to wash her cut. I used one the bandages we were given to, what I hoped was gentle; wash away the blood and dirt on her face.

'_She really is pretty.' _ I mentally kicked myself, _'Zuko remember Mai? The girl you're soon be engaged too? But I didn't pick her, Father did. Still it's not fair to Katara or Mai.' _I stopped cleaning Katara's face, and thought about Mai. Mai was one of my sister Azula's friends. I'd known her my entire life. She was cold and emotionless. I honestly didn't think that I could be happy married to her. I could barely stand to be in the same room as her. I remembered my father's words to me when I'd said that there was no love.

"_Love," my father scoffed. "Love is a weak man's emotion. Are you weak Prince Zuko?"_

"_No Father," I answered humbly._

"_Then you have no need for love. Look at your mother and I, there's no love involved in our marriage and look at how's its working out."_

_I thought of parents' marriage and mentally cringed. I forced myself to concentrate on what my father was saying._

"_We will announce your engagement when you return from the Avatar's quest. Now go I have other matters to see to."_

_As soon as I'd left my father's office, I went to see my uncle Iroh. I knocked on his door, after he called out, "Come in." I opened the door to find him drinking tea on his balcony._

"_Ah, Prince Zuko. It is good to see you. Would you care for a cup of tea?"  
_

"_No Uncle," I sighed and sat down across from him. Uncle set down his tea._

"_Prince Zuko is something wrong?"_

_I sighed again, "I'm so confused. You know that when we return from the Avatar's quest I am to announce my engagement to Mai."_

"_Creepy Mai? Azula's friend? The girl that's had a crush on you since you two were little? That Mai?"  
_

"_Yes Uncle, that Mai." We were silent for a short time and it was I that broke the silence._

"_Uncle did you love Aunt Lu? I mean when you were first married did you love her?"  
_

_Uncle seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Zuko have I ever told you the story of how your aunt and I met?"  
_

_I shook my head 'no' and Uncle continued, "It happened one night that I and a maiden saw each other at a ball for the first time. I gazed at the maiden with great delight until I caught her eye. The mysterious communication that was established across a room between us, two strangers, by this means moves all the springs of wonder." _

_He chuckled, "You could say it was love at first sight."_

"_But Father says that love is weak and for weak men."_

"_My brother has never experienced true love; he doesn't understand its power." _

_Then, "Zuko, do you consider me weak?" I quickly shook my head; my uncle was one of the strongest people I knew. "'_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.'_ Does that help, Prince Zuko?"_

_I nodded and thanked Uncle. I went back to my room pondering Uncle's words. Once in my room I vowed that I would marry for love or not at all. Sure, Father said that love was weak, but I'd seen his marriage and it was far from ideal. Whereas Uncle's marriage had been a lot more harmonious in the time that Aunt Lu had been alive._

I brought my mind back to the task at hand. I finished cleaning her wound and put a bandage on it. I left to get firewood and built a small fire, through all this the sun had begun to go down and night would quickly follow. I ate a quick supper and set up my bedroll near Katara. I knew that there was the risk of fever and I wanted to be close by. I closed my eyes hoping to get a few hours rest. But when I closed my eyes I was plagued with memories and images of Katara. I remembered the first time I'd met her. How pretty I thought she was. Sure I'd seen Water Tribe women before, they often came with their husbands who were ambassadors or they were ambassadors themselves.

No it was something more than her blue eyes that matched the water in Mother's beloved turtle-duck pond and her mocha colored hair. There was something in the way she carried herself. I liked her temper and spunk; she could certainly hold her own. I liked how she never backed down from my temper, only Mother and Uncle would stand up to my temper. I snorted, _'I make her sound like a goddess or something else equally perfect.' _Katara had her faults like any other person. She tended to go off in her own little world, continue to talk after you'd clearly stopped listening, she had her insane morning and nightly rituals that took forever and never seemed finished. Yeah, Katara wasn't perfect, but although I'll never admit it aloud, some days it's her faults I like about her best.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXXOXOX

**Katara's POV**

I opened my eyes slowly and found myself looking up at the ceiling of what appeared to be a cave. I licked my dry lips; I started to turn my head but instantly regretted it as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I closed my eyes against the pain. I heard footsteps and felt someone kneel next to me. I cracked open my eyes to see who it was. I found Zuko's face very close to my own.

"Good you're awake."

"Zuko, what," my voice cracked, Zuko gave me some water and after drinking, I tried to speak again.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

I frowned trying to remember, "We were climbing a cliff, when I fell, you saved me. When we got to the top I discovered I was bleeding, that's all." I saw Zuko nod when I was finished with my story.

"Well, you passed out. I brought you to this and cleaned your cut. You've had a fever and have been sleeping since you passed out the day before yesterday."

"What?" I half-shouted, sitting up. I groaned and clutched my head. I lay back down.

"What?" I repeated. I quickly counted on my fingers, "That means, counting today, we only have four days."

"Actually it's almost mid-day, so really we only have three and a half days."

I glared up at him. He didn't seem fazed by my glare; instead he simply asked me if I was still thirsty. I nodded abandoning my glare seeing as how it wasn't' really working anyway. Zuko reached up under me to prop up my shoulders so that I could drink.

After Zuko lowered the canteen, I asked, "So what the plan of action?"

"Well, you stay here and rest, while I go take a look around."

"Wait a minute; I want to come with you. I don't want to stay here in this place."

"You don't really have a choice; your body is still weak from your fever. You can't even sit up by yourself."

I sighed, I knew that Zuko was telling the truth, but still I didn't want to be alone. "Oh, all right, I'll stay here and try to rest."

Zuko lowered my back down, kissed my forehead and said, "Good. That's all I ask."

With that he got up and left. I stared after him puzzled, by his actions. I lay back down, for awhile I stared at the ceiling thinking about how kind Zuko had been, he was unlike any other man I had ever met. I snorted, not that I'd met many other men. Sokka was way too overprotective. He scared most of them away. I closed my eyes and fell asleep still thinking about Zuko and his kisses.

**Author's Note: **I apologize for my delay in updating, but in the age old excuse of many college students, I've been busy with homework. But I will say that this as of right now, (I haven't written the rest of the story), this is my favorite chapter. I heart Zuko, just for the record.


	7. He thought he was the Burger King

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Avatar otherwise I'd get rid of any hint of Katang, because it's just manky.

**Katara's POV**

I felt a lot better, but my muscles were weakened from in use. Zuko came back yesterday empty-handed. He'd shaken his head muttering, "I just don't know what we're supposed to find."

He'd made us supper and told me what he'd seen, nothing too exciting. He then told me about the Fire Nation upon my request.

"_Mostly it's hot and there's a lot of red everywhere. Don't get me wrong there are other colors, but red is one of the colors of the nation and everybody wants to wear it. The market is on of my favorite places to go; the people there are so interesting. Most of them try to sell you useless things, but my uncle Iroh has an eye for bargains. He always buys way too much stuff. But it doesn't go to waste he sends it to one of the orphanages so it gets used. Agni knows Uncle doesn't need it._

_There are forests and meadows, but I spend most of my time in the Fire Nation palace. The palace is huge; you could get lost for days and never see anyone that you knew. When I was little I always carried a map with me so I wouldn't get lost. _

_One time I was playing hide-n-seek with my cousin Lu Ten and I forgot my map, I got so lost that it took two days for them to find me. After that I never wanted to play hide-n-seek again. But one good thing came out of it. While I was lost I found this little garden oasis. Well, actually when I found it, it wasn't very pretty it was over grown with weeds. But I went back to it everyday and made it into a beautiful garden with a turtle duck pond. It took me years to restore it. When it was finished I gave it to my mother for her birthday, to this day she and I are the only ones that know about it. But my mother never got to enjoy it; she died three days after her birthday. She'd been sick for a long time. _

_Now I maintain it in her honor and use it to just get away from it all. All the pressure, everything._

_Sometimes when I'm there, I can almost feel my mother's presence there with me." He gave me a sad-sort of smile._

"_Sounds stupid doesn't it?"_

_I reached out and put my hand on his cheek, so he couldn't turn away from me, and I looked into his golden eyes, "No Zuko it doesn't sound stupid to me. It sounds incredibly sweet and caring. I can tell that you love your mother very much."_

_Keeping my hand on Zuko's cheek, I reached under the collar of my shirt, until my fingers closed around a smooth, circular stone I pulled it out form under my shirt._

"_See this necklace, it belonged to my mother, when she died she gave it to me. Whenever I wear it, I feel like she's watching over me, protecting me."_

_I fell silent. We sat like that far an undeterminable amount of time, just looking into each other's eyes, sharing the bond of losing a beloved parent._

_Then, Zuko leaned in and gave me a tender, brief kiss upon my lips. He rested his forehead on mine and whispered, "Thanks. Good night, Katara."_

_Then he turned away and laid down on his bedroll. I sat up a little while longer thinking about what he'd told me, watching him sleep.  
_

Now it was morning and I was following behind Zuko closely. He seemed to know where he was going and we walked in silence; no mention was made about what was said last night. Actually no words had been no words had been spoken at all this morning.

I looked up and judged by where the sun was in the sky that it was almost lunch. Okay who was I kidding; I had the survival skills of a child. I only guessed it was lunchtime, because just then my stomach gave off a very large growl. I prayed to La that Zuko didn't hear.

My prayer went unanswered. Instead Zuko stopped, turned around and asked if I was hungry. Too embarrassed to speak, let alone answer, I let my stomach do the talking; it growled again this time louder than before.

He nodded and turned and walked a little bit further, before stopping next to a stream. Zuko sat down with his back leaning against a tree. He pulled out, two apples, some pita bread, in which he then proceeded to place pieces of rabbit meat, that he'd caught and cooked while I was sick. He filled our canteens from the stream. I sat down next to him sharing the same tree trunk, he handed me my share of the food saying, "Eat."

I didn't need to be told twice I at my sandwich first devouring it in only a matter of minutes. I ate my apple equally as fast. Zuko just stared at me, one eyebrow raised.

"What?"

He shook his head, "I've never seen anybody, let alone a girl eat anything so quickly."

I felt my face heat up with embarrassment, and when I spoke my voice was a little high and a lot squeaky.

"Well…um…yes… you see… I was hungry and," I paused and cleared my throat and tried to speak again.

"Besides when my brother's hungry he can devour an entire pot of salted seal meat stew in minutes. It's his favorite. He can eat and eat and eat. You've never seen anything like it. There was this one time we went to a party and Sokka ate over half the food. Since then we haven't really been invited to any more parties."

I took a deep breath to stop my rambling. I looked over at Zuko; he was still staring at me.

"What?" I snapped uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

"You ate my food."

I looked down at his lap where his food had previously been sitting, he was right there was nothing there but a few crumbs. I blushed and tried to stammer out and apology, but he just stared at me repeating over and over.

"You ate my food."

"Yes I ate your food," I snapped, "It's not a crime or anything."

I pause then continued speaking trying to shift the blame.

"You know it not very nice to point out thing like that. Besides I'm recovering from an injury, I went an entire day without eating. Also some people are just big eaters, does it really matter home much some one eats? Whether they are male or female? Honestly thought the worst part about this whole situation is you! Pointing out to me something that in your eyes is a flaw. It's like saying that I'm fat or you hate my clothes. Wouldn't it be better to just leave well enough alone? To point something else out, like how beautiful my hair looks or the weather or something. How very rude, sir. And you a prince of all things. I would have thought that you had more manners than a common peasant, but apparently I was wrong!"

My voice had gotten louder and louder throughout my ranting, also at some point I'd moved closer to Zuko. So close in fact my face was only inches away from his.

I stared into Zuko's eyes letting him see the anger rolling around in mine. Then suddenly before I had a chance to react, Zuko put one hand on the back of my head and crushed his lips on mine. I was briefly taken aback, but once I got over my temporary paralysis I began to kiss him back.

When we broke apart for air, Zuko whispered in my ear.

"I think your hair is beautiful. The weather is a little warm for this time of year. And I think that you look beautiful when you're angry with me.

Even though I should take offense for what you said about me, I won't. Because you're right, I spoke without considering your feelings."

Just when I was about to tell him that I forgave him for his momentary lack of forethought he spoke again.

"But I will point out that for the record, I am a prince, but any body else would've said the same thing. Now my only question is, where do you put it all?"

He'd barely gotten all the words out, when I smacked him along side the head. He muttered, "Ow", but it didn't matter to me, he'd deserved it anyway.


End file.
